Easter Earthquake

Shake rattle and roll!  When afternoon naps were over GG came by and picked up all three kids to go to Grandma Rosie's house where the extended Gaddis family were celebrating.  They had saved a few eggs for the boys to hunt and everyone wanted to see Sailor dolled up in her Easter dress.  We arrived just after three o'clock, ate a late lunch and sat outside on the grass visiting.  Then it hit.  Magnitude 7.2 at 3:40pm.  First a gentle roll, lasting long enough to realize and acknowledge "this is an earthquake".  It continued shaking and became more violent.  At this point I got out of my chair and hurried to the boys who were struggling to walk across the shaking ground to be with the adults.  Sailor was being held by cousin C.J. just in front of us.  I crouched down and put one arm around each of the boys.  The shaking continued.  I thought "how do you explain this?"  We sang, yes, it continued long enough to sing Our God is an awesome God, then He's Got the Whole World in His Hands.  We watched cars in the driveway roll several feet in each direction as the ground jolted back and forth.  My aunt's two story house was swaying before our eyes and we heard glass breaking in my grandparent's house.  It was so strong I expected to see the ground open up in front of us.  As the shaking continued I acknowledged how grateful I was that my entire family was right there, within arm's reach.  My husband and children, parents, preggo sis (due in two weeks with Baby Henry) and even grandparents.  

Fisher was fearless.  He was first to leave the scene to see where he could help.  Papa Sam's home office was a disaster, papers everywhere, a fallen bookcase.  The kitchen had broken glasses and dishes on the floor, but no major damage.

There were so many details to be grateful for.  We were outside when it hit, the very best place to be, all together in patio chairs on the lawn.  All the children were nearby, not off around the corner or somewhere else playing.  It was daytime, damage was easy to assess and clean up in the light when the electricity went off.  It was a holiday, we were with the ones we love instead of scattered across town at work and school.  We were all safe!  God was extremely gracious.

My parents raced off to check on my mom's mother, Granny Melba who was at her home, alone, next door to my parents' house.  They found her in her chair, having not moved after the quake.  Pictures, dishes, decorations has fallen all around her, but she remained in her chair, uninjured.  We stayed at Grandma Rosies' long enough to get reports from family members calling other family members who were not with us then loaded the kids up and headed into town.  First stop, my mom's house, saw Granny and confirmed they were all safe.  Next we went to the office.  No damage found.  One computer monitor tipped over, some books and papers had fallen off of shelves.  We made our way home down Main Street passing my dad's office.  Several old buildings along Main Street had broken windows and we saw some fallen bricks and chipped stucco.  Swung by the church and visited with the church secretary's family who live across the street.  Everything was ok there.  Now heading home.

When we pulled in the driveway Fisher said "I should go in first" wanting to check it out for us and make sure it was safe.  What a brave boy!  Glass and broken dishes on the kitchen floor.  What a mess.  A few books had fallen out of the bookcases.  Contents of the hall pantry had dumped onto the floor making the area impassable.  The only mess was spilled chicken broth and a torn bag of flour.  The boys' dresser had fallen over.  A few pictures on the wall were crooked, but again, no serious damage.

Mike took the kids to the backyard to play while I cleaned up the mess inside, without help:).  He was playing catch with Fisher and had Sailor buckled into her baby swing when the electricity came back on.  That must have reset the sprinkler timer because within a few minutes the sprinklers turned on and Mike had to race across the grass to unbuckled Sailor and run to the patio.

It is nearly ten o'clock and the aftershocks continue.  Mostly magnitude 3 and 4, but one was over 5.  Mike and I both recalled memories of the 1993 Northridge Earthquake we experienced.  I was four years old, Fisher's age, when the last large earthquake hit El Centro.  My only memory of it was going downtown weeks later to watch a large building that was condemned be blasted with dynamite.

All the kids are tucked safely in their own beds.  The house is clean and mostly put back together.  I'm finally winding down and just need to make a large, cozy bed on the floor in our room for nighttime visitors before turning in.